Market Overview - Asian stock markets are experiencing positive momentum, driven by optimism regarding the potential end of the U.S. government shutdown and expectations of an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve next month [1][2] - The Senate has approved a bill that could end the longest U.S. government shutdown in history, lasting 42 days [1] Australian Market - Australian shares are trading modestly higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 index gaining 19.30 points or 0.22% to 8,838.10 [4] - Major miners such as BHP Group and Fortescue are up more than 1%, while Rio Tinto has increased by over 2% [5] - Mineral Resources has surged more than 9% after selling a 30% stake in its lithium operations to POSCO Holdings [5] - Oil stocks are also performing well, with Santos gaining almost 2% and Woodside Energy and Beach Energy up nearly 1% each [5] Economic Indicators in Australia - The total number of new home loans issued in Australia rose by a seasonally adjusted 6.4% quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2025, totaling 141,470 loans [8] - Investor home loans increased by 13.6% quarter-on-quarter and 12.3% year-on-year, reaching 57,624 loans [9] - The value of new home loans climbed 9.6% quarter-on-quarter and 13.2% year-on-year to A$98.0 billion [9] Japanese Market - The Japanese stock market is also showing modest gains, with the Nikkei 225 index up 84.36 points or 0.17% to 50,927.29 [11] - SoftBank Group's stock is down almost 6% after selling its entire $5.83 billion stake in Nvidia [12] - Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are both gaining more than 2% [12] Economic Indicators in Japan - The M2 money stock in Japan increased by 1.6% year-on-year in October, totaling 1,270.1 trillion yen, which was below expectations [16] - The M3 money stock rose 1.0% year-on-year to 1,617.8 trillion yen [17]
Asian Markets A Sea Of Green